Wednesday, December 14, 2005

The Palestinian Authority, that same loose government entity of the Palestinians that the US provides financial support for, has passed a law that compensates the families of suicide bombers in the form of monthly paid pensions. From the Israel National News.

Under the new law, the terroristÂs family will be paid a base sum of $250 per month. The law takes into account extended family arrangements commonplace in Arab societies. The families of married terrorists are entitled to an additional $50 per month, and $15 are added for each child, $25 for each parent, and $15 for each brother who lived with the terrorist prior to his death.

The monies, to be paid out of the general budget of the Palestinian Authority, are significant sums for average Arab families living in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

This might be one of those times when our own actions need to be critiqued for compliance with the Bush Doctrine. There should not be one penny of financial support given to the Palestinian Authority by the United States for health care, housing, or economic development while this law is in place. Anything else is just wink-wink diplomacy and the worst sort of toothless political hypocrisy.